The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has berated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his interest in the 2027 presidency.
Onanuga argued that Atiku is simply pursuing a self-serving interest without regard for zoning or Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement, which gives preference to a southern candidate for the 2027 presidency.
According to the presidential media aide, Atiku has constantly disregarded zoning arrangements in his previous ambitions for the presidency, leading to a crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He added that Atiku’s open declaration of intent to contest the 2027 presidency is following the same route and may plunge the African Democratic Congress (ADC) into similar troubles.
Onanuga, however, predicted that Atiku would suffer a resounding defeat at the polls, describing him as a man who never learns.
“Once again, Abubakar Atiku has put forward a self-serving argument to justify his attempt to disrupt Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement. In 2023, as a member of the PDP—a party that, like others, practices zoning—Atiku disregarded the established formula and sought to succeed a fellow northerner, who had spent eight years in office. His ambition fractured the PDP, leading to his resounding defeat at the polls.
“Now, he stands poised to repeat history and face another doom. Another spectacular failure awaits this perennial candidate in the next election,” Onanuga wrote on 𝕏.
Speaking against the backdrop of Atiku’s interview with Arise News on Wednesday, in which he argued that zoning is an error and that the South has governed Nigeria for 18 years, and the North has done only 10 years, Onanuga described the former Vice President’s submission as dubious political arithmetic.
Onanuga pointed out that the zoning arrangement must be respected to allow President Bola Tinubu to complete his eight years before a northerner can contest the presidency again.
“In his interview with Charles Aniagolu on Wednesday, Atiku, now sounding like the presumed ADC candidate (Peter Obi, get ready to bolt away), revisited his 2023 argument on the North-South power rotation. In a brazenly self-serving twist, he insisted he is not bound by the rotation formula because, according to him, the South has spent more years in office than the North since 1999. His political arithmetic is dubious.
“He conveniently overlooks the fact that the North’s shorter tenure was due to the untimely death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, which led to President Jonathan’s succession. This accidental breach does not invalidate the power rotation arrangement between the North and the South. Since Buhari completed his eight years, Tinubu too must complete his own. All Atiku needs to do is to bury the thought of running again, as it is still the South’s turn in the 2027 election,” Onanuga added.